Issue Briefs
Unconditional Resilience
How NGOs evolved to survive the COVID-19 pandemic
By Aneesh Chaterjee
Blood samples for testing. Photo: Belova59, Pixabay.
On February 4, 2020, the World Health Organization released its first Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for the novel coronavirus. The document details elaborate guidelines for how governments should prepare domestically and internationally, recommending containment strategies and encouraging international cooperation. In the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this publication—and the advent of pandemic response and recovery strategies overall—appear to be strong institutional and structural accelerators for SDG 3, ensuring good health and well-being for all. The Goal, however, appeals not just for protection against COVID-19, but good health in the face of many other health crises. The necessary fixation on COVID-19, while bolstering certain SDG initiatives, has deprived other sectors. To bring sustainable endeavors back on course, the SDGs may prove to be a sufficient guiding framework for rebuilding post-pandemic. Continue Reading
The Global Washington community supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a blueprint for building a better and more sustainable future for us all.